P&L Template (Income Statement)
What this is: A structured Profit & Loss (P&L) template covering the major line items from revenue to net income. Designed for a SaaS or subscription business; adapt line items for other models.
Use for: Monthly / quarterly financial reporting, budget-vs-actual tracking, board reporting.
Note: The Excel version of this template includes formulas and built-in variance columns. This Markdown version is a structural reference.
How to read a P&L
The P&L answers: did the business make money in this period, and at what stage of the business did money flow in or out?
Reading top to bottom:
- Revenue — what came in
- COGS — the direct cost of delivering that revenue
- Gross profit = Revenue − COGS — the margin from the core business activity
- Operating expenses — costs of running the business (sales, marketing, G&A, R&D)
- Operating income (EBIT) = Gross profit − OpEx — profit from core operations, before financing effects
- EBITDA = EBIT + Depreciation + Amortization — a cash-flow-adjacent proxy frequently used in valuation
- Net income = Operating income − Interest − Taxes — what's left after everything
P&L — [Company Name] — [Period]
(Period: Month / Quarter / Year ending [date])
(Currency: _______________)
(Prepared by: _______________ | Date: _______________)
REVENUE
| Line item | Current period | Prior period | YTD | Budget | Variance (Act vs Bud) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription / recurring revenue | |||||
| Professional services | |||||
| Usage / variable revenue | |||||
| One-time / setup fees | |||||
| Other revenue | |||||
| Total Revenue | — | — | — | — | — |
Revenue growth YoY: ___%
Revenue growth MoM: ___%
COST OF GOODS SOLD (COGS)
Direct costs to deliver the product or service
| Line item | Current period | Prior period | YTD | Budget | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting / infrastructure | |||||
| Third-party software / APIs | |||||
| Customer support (direct) | |||||
| Professional services delivery | |||||
| Other COGS | |||||
| Total COGS | — | — | — | — | — |
Gross Profit = Revenue − COGS: _______________
Gross Margin % = Gross Profit ÷ Revenue: ___%
(Benchmark: SaaS gross margins typically 65–80%+; services businesses 30–50%)
OPERATING EXPENSES (OpEx)
| Line item | Current period | Prior period | YTD | Budget | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales & Marketing | |||||
| Salaries & benefits — Sales | |||||
| Commissions | |||||
| Marketing programs | |||||
| Events & travel | |||||
| Subtotal Sales & Marketing | — | — | — | — | — |
| Research & Development | |||||
| Salaries & benefits — Engineering | |||||
| Salaries & benefits — Product | |||||
| Tools & software — R&D | |||||
| Subtotal R&D | — | — | — | — | — |
| General & Administrative | |||||
| Salaries & benefits — G&A | |||||
| Legal & compliance | |||||
| Finance & accounting | |||||
| Facilities & office | |||||
| Insurance | |||||
| Other G&A | |||||
| Subtotal G&A | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total OpEx | — | — | — | — | — |
PROFITABILITY SUMMARY
| Metric | Current period | Prior period | YTD | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Profit | ||||
| Gross Margin % | ||||
| EBITDA | ||||
| EBITDA Margin % | ||||
| Depreciation & Amortization | ||||
| Operating Income (EBIT) | ||||
| Interest expense / (income) | ||||
| Income tax | ||||
| Net Income | ||||
| Net Margin % |
HEADCOUNT (optional but useful alongside P&L)
| Department | Current | Prior period | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales & Marketing | |||
| R&D / Engineering | |||
| G&A | |||
| Customer Success | |||
| Total headcount | — | — | — |
Revenue per FTE: _______________
COMMENTARY
Revenue: _______________
Gross margin drivers: _______________
OpEx highlights: _______________
Key variances vs budget: _______________
Outlook for next period: _______________
Covered in depth in the Financial Literacy Guide on biztechprimer.com.